Midnight at the Lost and Found
by MyraValhallah
Summary: When Draco Malfoy wishes away a dying Hermione Granger and is forced to run the Labyrinth to get save her life he uncovers a forgotten past beyond anything he could have imagined. A history connecting him to Granger and the kingdom he must navigate to win her back
1. Prologue

**_I know I shouldn't really be starting a new story when I have so many unfinished ones, but this story is short, I estimate ten chapters at most. Those of you who are waiting for 'It's A Kind of Magic' to be updated, rest assured I have not abandoned it and do fully intend to finish it._**

* * *

 ** _Prologue_**

Granger would not last the night.

Aunt Bella had done a real number on the mudblood when the snatchers had failed to capture Potter and Weasley at the same time as they caught her. Draco knew he shouldn't care that there would soon be one less mudblood in the world but for the life of him he could not convince himself that he didn't.

He also couldn't stay away from the cellar in which the mudblood would breathe her last. The last shreds of human decency that remained, despite his father's, and the Dark Lord's, best efforts, insisted that Hermione Granger should not be alone as she died. The goblin and house elf who shared her cell were poor substitute for the friends and who should surround her deathbed.

Sitting beside her, Draco took her hand, unsure what had prompted the move, and remarked to her. "I'm sorry it has to end like this you know. I wish it didn't have to."

"It _doesn't_ have to," a hoarse voice put in from across the cell.

Draco looked up to find the goblin watching him, and he dropped Granger's hand as fast as if it had burned him.

"She's already dying," Draco retorted, stiffly. "Of course it's going to end like this."

"The goblins could save her." The Goblin returned, its huge eyes aglow in the dim light of the cellar. "All you need do is _say your right words._ "

"Say my right words?" Draco snorted. "That's a fairy tale, a story meant to scare children."

The goblin arched an eyebrow. "Is it?"

"Is it?" Draco asked, despite himself.

"Say your _right words_ and find out," the goblin returned with a nasty smile.

Draco could not fight the feeling that the little banker was laughing at him. He scowled. How many pureblood children had been threatened with the _right words,_ some, he knew were threatened with it in an attempt to scare their still dormant magic out of them- the threat of becoming a goblin would have scared Draco into doing just about _anything, when he was little._

Still, on the off chance that calling on the goblins _would_ save Granger's life, it could be the first step on the road to redeeming himself; and if it didn't work there was nobody of import around to hear him make a fool of himself.

Draco Malfoy closed his eyes and said the words. "I wish the goblins would come and take you away, right now."

~v~


	2. 1: Lost Souls at the Hunting Ground

_**Hello everyone,**_

 _ **Some of you may have noticed that I posted an adoption notice on this story. However, I can now announce that the story is no longer up for adoption. Following my most recent viewing of Labyrinth, the ideas have started flowing again.**_

 _ **I now have a defined story plan, but I'm no longer entirely sure how long the story will be.**_

 _ **This story will contain some Once Upon A Time crossover, but you do not need to have seen the show for it to make sense.**_

 _ **I'd like to thank everyone who has followed and/or favourited this story so far and special thanks to Shadow Silvertongue, Hyseion, Windsongspringheart, kyonomiko, Lugia'sChallenger13, Honoria Granger, Vaneesa85, Mr. and Ms Cuddles, Guest and Melinda for their lovely reviews.**_

 _ **Guest: Yes, I'm sorry the prologue was so short, following chapters SHOULD be longer.**_

 _ **Melinda: Thank you for your reviews, but you don't need to worry about someone picking up the story now.**_

 _ **Hope you all enjoy the rest, and now, on with the show.**_

* * *

 ** _Chapter One: Lost Souls at the Hunting Ground_**

A chill wind whipped at his robes, at his hair. Draco Malfoy opened his eyes and found himself sitting on the dusty ground at the crest of a hill. Before him stretched a vast maze as far as the eye could see, and overhead hung a heavy, cloudless orange sky.

"Merlin's pants!" Draco yelped. "The bloody goblin was right!"

The story with which he, and countless pureblood children, and possibly any number of halfbloods too, had been scared with was true. The goblins, the ones who didn't work in Gringotts, stole children away.

 _"Why are you so surprised?"_

Draco started; he looked all around for the voice, but found himself quite alone. He shuddered. "Isn't there supposed to be some sort of Goblin King to offer me a wish in exchange for Granger?"

"I'm sorry I'm late," a woman's voice said, silkily.

Draco's head snapped up and his jaw dropped at the sight of the stunning woman standing before him. She wasn't tall, but her regal bearing made up what she lacked in height. The woman was dressed in fitted, black armour and a high collared ragged cloak. Her skin was pale, offset by wild, dark curls which were held away from her face by a silver circlet adorned with a curious crescent shaped symbol.

"Goblin Queen?"

Her lips curled up a smirk. "You almost sound… disappointed."

"No!" he shook his head quickly. "Are you here to offer me a wish in exchange for the mudblood?"

The smirk grew and she raised one hand, and a crystal ball appeared in her fingers. "Here, a gift. Do you want it?"

"I never took divination."

"Silly boy," the Goblin Queen returned, rolling the ball across her long, leather covered fingers. "It's just a crystal. But turn it this way, and look into it, and it will show you your dreams." She stopped the crystal ball in her palm, with a skill that surpassed even Potter's skill as a seeker, and held it out to him. "Do you want it?"

Oh Merlin, did he ever?

The chance to see his wildest dreams come to fruition was something that many men stronger than Draco would kill for such a chance. But no, he couldn't take the chance. He was doing this to save Granger. He had to run the labyrinth.

"It's very generous of you," Draco said, diplomatically, as he feared what angering the Goblin Queen might do to him. "But I want the chance to save Granger. The story says I have that option."

"Draco," she said icily, changing the crystal ball into a snake. "Don't defy me." And with that she threw the snake directly at his face.

Instinctively, Draco raised his hands to protect himself, as his fists closed around the snake it transformed into two small, soft somethings. A pair of fine black leather gloves. Draco stared at the Queen in shock.

She merely smirked.

"Very well, you have thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth, before Poor dear Hermione becomes one of us, forever." An elaborate clock with thirteen hour markers appeared over the Queen's left shoulder. "Are you up to the challenge?"

"Of course I am," Draco retorted, then with something dangerously akin to Gryffindor brashness he added. "It doesn't look that far."

"It's further than you think," the Queen told him. "And your time grows shorter by the second."

Draco scowled, absently stuffing the gloves into his robes pocket. "Thirteen hours? Piece of cake." He looked down at his polished dragon hide shoes and said, quite without understanding why. "Come on feet."

Then Draco Lucius Malfoy set off down the hill.

* * *

"Wiseman!"

The Wiseman was dozing in his chair in the hedge maze when he was rudely wakened by a familiar voice.

"Wiseman!" she cried. "Wake up!"

"Woo, woo, woo!" his hat exclaimed. "You better wake up, she sounds excited."

"Alright," the Wiseman grumbled. "Alright, I'm awake."

He opened his eyes just in time to see the closest thing that their kingdom had had to a monarch for the past several decades come running into the clearing, her golden hair flying out behind her, as her customary hat had flown off during her flight, and the goblin mask, which she liked to pretend that she did not wear sat crookedly on her face.

The Wiseman pulled himself to his feet. "My Lady," he greeted, with a shallow bow. "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"It's happening," she beamed. "Just as you said it would."

"Well that makes a change." The hat chimed in. "Normally your advice is crap."

"Be quiet," the Wiseman hissed, before returning his attention to the Lady. "The Queen is in the castle? Is she in need of a healer?"

The Lady nodded, her green eyes were troubled. "I fear she won't last until the king reaches the centre. I have Sir Didymus and Ludo the Rock Caller watching over her, they were her friends when she was questing for her little brother."

The Wiseman nodded. "Wise, My Lady. I shall make for the castle now to examine her."

The Lady produced a crystal. "I could transport you? These are my last hours of independence, and I intend to take advantage of them while I may."

"My thanks, Lady," The Wiseman shook his head. "But no thank you. I prefer to walk. The King's magic is not for those like us."

"Speak for yourself!" his hat retorted. "I'm more than up for a lift to the castle."

"Will you _please,_ be quiet," the Wiseman hissed.

The Lady stooped to kiss his cheek then stretched up on her toes to bestow the same gift on his hat. She pulled a gold coin out of the pocket of her dress and held it out to them. "Here, a contribution for the little box."

"Gracias senorita," the hat cooed as she dropped the offering into their collection box.

The Lady gave them one last smile before vanishing and the Wiseman set off in the direction of the castle. Their Queen, he knew, would be fine. He had foreseen what was ahead of them centuries ago, before the Labyrinth was beaten by Princess Sarah, before the King was even born.

The balance of power would be restored, and at long last the wrong committed by the Blue Star and her sisters would begin to be put right.

~v~


	3. 2: At the Edge and Where I Walk Alone

_**Thanks to everyone who has followed and/or favourited since I last updated. Special thanks to hotgirlow, Hollowg1rl and Kyonomiko for their lovely reviews.**_

 _ **I can't promise my updates will be this frequent in future, my dissertation is due in a month's time and I have to put that before fan fiction but I will do my best to post regularly.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Because I forgot to do this at the beginning. I do not own anything that you recognize. The plot is mine and that's about it.**_

 _ **And without further a do...**_

* * *

 ** _Chapter Two: At the Edge and Where I Walk Alone_**

The ground gave way beneath Draco's feet before he had managed to get to the bottom of the hill. His feet slipped out from under him and he rolled down the rest of the slope, landing in an undignified heap at the bottom, staring dazedly up at the outside wall of the Labyrinth.

The sight struck him as incredibly familiar, but he couldn't say why. The closest he had ever come to a labyrinth in the past was his seat in the Quidditch stands for the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament back in fourth year. Still, the sense of de ja vous he got looking up at the wall, was the same sort of feeling which had prompted him to sit with Granger in the Cellar back at home.

 _'At least the landing was dry this time,'_ Frowning at the strange thought, Draco got to his feet, still staring at the wall and flexed his limbs to ensure that none of them were damaged. Satisfied that he was all in one piece, Draco began to look for the entrance to the Labyrinth.

He could find neither door nor gate.

"Ok," he muttered, frowning. "Where's the damn door?" If he were expecting an answer, Draco was sadly disappointed. _Say your right words,_ the goblin had said when he had wished Granger away. Perhaps the same applied here. "Maybe to find the door I need to ask the right question."

A strange sense of certainty settled over him as he thought of this. But what, in the name of Merlin's favourite leather posing pouch was the right question?

* * *

 _He was tired. He was hungry. His whole body ached and all he wanted was to die. Why couldn't he have died? Everyone else had? What in the Underground made him so goddamned special? Not even little Nonabel had been spared._

 _Belle had only seen nine summers, she had not even been old enough to form a crystal, let alone construct a spell- but it hadn't stopped them from killing her; and yet_ he _at seventeen had been spared. And hadn't_ that _been their mistake?_

 _He would avenge his kin._

 _All of them._

 _His anger gave him strength, spurred him on._

 _He would not rest until every mother fucking fairy in all of the realms was killed. He swore in the name of his sweet baby sister. Even though he knew that Belle would not approve of him vowing revenge in her name, he was far too angry to care._

 _And then one of his feet was caught on a root at the crest of the hill he had been climbing and he was sent arse over tit and went rolling down the other side of the hill. Down and down he rolled until he landed with a splash in a shallow pond._

 _Ugh!_

 _Shivering, he pulled himself out of the pond and pushed his hair out of his eyes, ringing the water out of his clothes. Where the hell was he?_

 _A wall rose up about fifteen feet and stretched out in either direction as far as the eye could see. The Labyrinth._

 _"By the gods," he breathed. "It's bloody real."_

 _He had grown up hearing stories of the Labyrinth, but he had never quite believed them. Now, all he had to do was get into the place._

 _"Alright," he asked himself, wracking his brains to remember the story. "How does one get into the Labyrinth?"_

 _A pair of doors which had not been there previously, swung slowly open a few hundred feet away to the left._

* * *

 _"How do I get into the Labyrinth?"_

Draco had guessed the question first time. He might have felt rather proud of himself, if not for the feeling that entering the labyrinth was _supposed_ to be that easy. Things would get progressively harder as he got further into the maze. Right now though, Draco was having a hard enough time finding the way to get out of this sodding corridor.

* * *

The Lady lay in her borrowed throne, watching the young man's progress in a crystal. She had conjured them so many times in her life, but now the effort was tiring her. She was already starting to fade. The King was returning- even now his memories would be beginning to come back to him, and when he reached the castle she could finally rest and the Queen could be made whole again.

Ablations were not supposed to live as long as she had.

"Hurry up Goblin King," she whispered as he finally found an opening in the corridor. "I want to go home."

Soon enough she would have to go and face him again, but for now she would sleep. She would wake when he reached the Oubliette.

* * *

 _This was the Labyrinth?_

 _This was the legendary maze which, in ages past, had been the gauntlet his kin had faced in order to prove themselves adults? It had taken him about an hour to reach the centre, and most of that time had consisted of him trying to find an opening out of the outermost corridor. When he had found it, all he had done was turn left and he found himself in a large clearing._

 _"Welcome," said a voice from somewhere. "I was beginning to think that you might not be coming."_

 _The voice belonged to a short elderly man in ragged robes and a curious, egg-shaped hat._

 _"You knew I was coming?"_

 _The old man smiled. "A lost and lonely soul, come to unite the survivors of the genocide under his rule."_

 _He blinked; the genocide had targeted more than just his kind? He had had no idea._

 _"Under my rule?" he asked. "I don't understand."_

 _The man nodded and bowed. "Long live the Lord of the Labyrinth. Long live the King."_

* * *

Draco shook his head, trying to dislodge the headache which had been building behind his eyes since he had entered the Labyrinth. What he wouldn't give for a headache potion right now, or even a drink of water.

Something ran down his right arm and built under the skin of his palm. And then his hand twitched and something round and smooth landed in his cupped hand. It was a crystal, just like the one that the Goblin Queen had offered him.

A frightened yelp did _not_ escape his lips nor did he throw the crystal away. Draco Malfoy, heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy did not yelp. He had simply… sneezed. _Yes_ that was it; a poorly timed sneeze had caused him to accidentally drop the glass ball. He looked for it, curious to see where it had landed, and doubtless shattered.

There was no trace of it. What there was though was a bloated water-skin, lying on the cobbled path about three feet away from him. Draco stared at it blankly. Had he done that?

"I…" he swallowed, half afraid of what would happen if he did test his theory. "I wish I had… a pair of boots."

Yes that would be useful, his shoes were not designed for traversing enormous mazes. Once again that something ran down his right arm, and a crystal appeared in his hand. Draco dropped this one, very deliberately at his feet and he watched in fascination as his shoes transformed before his eyes into a pair of knee length boots, his trouser legs tucking neatly inside them. The boots fit as if he'd been wearing them for years and not mere seconds.

A man could get used to this. He might even have been the best in their year if he'd been able to do _this._

 _Best in their year…_

 _Hermione._

What was he doing wasting time when she was waiting for him to save her life?

"Hang on, precious," he murmured. "I'm coming."

And with that Draco snatched up the water skin and took off in the general direction of the castle at the centre of the labyrinth.

~v~


	4. 3: The Winds of Change

**_Hey everyone,_**

 ** _I'm sorry to say that this chapter is rather short, but I felt that is came to a natural conclusion- subsequent chapters will be longer._**

 ** _Thank you to everyone who has followed and/or favourited this story since my last update._**

 ** _Special thanks to Hollowg1irl, kyonomiko, Melinda, Vaneesa85, windsongspringheart, Lugia'sChallenger13 and Ice demon ranger for their lovely reviews_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter Three: The Winds of Change_**

There was something different about the Labyrinth. He had been watching it for years; trying to find some crack in its defences. It wasn't a job that he relished, but compared to what he could be doing- hiding from Pan's fanatical cronies- staking out the perimeter of a glorified hedge maze was paradise.

Over the years that he had been watching the border of the Labyrinth, he had come to know it quite well; and for the first time he could see _why_ Pan might want the place. Today, for the first time, the Labyrinth was practically buzzing. He knew there was a runner in the maze; they came every now and then over the years; but something about _this_ runner had made the place come alive.

He knew that he ought to tell Pan about this, but one thing held him back. If he reported this he would be just as bad as any of the master's lackeys. If he reported this then his peaceful life on the edge of the labyrinth would be a thing of the past.

* * *

 _He was dying. His breath was short, and the poison inching towards his heart was causing him unbearable pain. The assassin had been clever- coating a cold iron blade with dream shade, even his great magic was not enough to survive both. The conniving bastard had taken advantage of a moment of weakness and struck even as the Goblin King was forced to bid farewell to the woman to whom he had lost his heart._

 _A subtle shift in the air told him that he was no longer alone in his chamber. The spirit of the Labyrinth had appeared at his bedside._

 _"_ _Why are you here?" he rasped. "Pan…?"_

 _"…_ _has not yet penetrated the wards surrounding the Kingdom." The spirit told him, climbing up onto his mattress. "The Kingdom has not fallen."_

 _"_ _Yet," The King said, turning to face the childlike figure that the Labyrinth favoured on the rare event that it chose to manifest in physical form._

 _"_ _Nor will he, Master." it told him, firmly._

 _He sighed. "You know that I can only protect you while I live."_

 _"_ _Then live you shall."_

 _He shook his head. "Not even you can prevent thi…"_

 _He broke off sharply as his body was wracked by a coughing fit. When it had passed he flopped against his pillows._

 _"_ _Sleep now Master," The spirit said, pressing a kiss to his brow. "All will be well. I promise."_

* * *

Draco raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. He was lost in a section of the labyrinth that moved around more than the Hogwarts staircases. Someone had been through this place at one time or another, as there were faded red arrows scrawled here and there on some of the cobbles.

' _The cobbles are changed if anyone tries to mark the trail,'_

Draco didn't know where that thought had come from, but he was oddly certain that he could rely on it. If he could not mark the path then how could he know that he was heading in the right direction? He scowled, a headache beginning to build behind his eyes.

* * *

Sir Didymus sat by his Lady's bedside. When he had first seen her again after the long years which had passed between them, the Knight had sworn bloody vengeance on those who had dared to harm her. The healers who had been called to examine her on her arrival had forcibly expelled him from the chamber after one particularly enthusiastic thrust with his sabre had accidentally cut off half of the head healer's bushy black moustache. The healers had allowed him back into the chamber once they were finished and Didymus had been at his Lady's side ever since.

The thirteenth hour was a long way off yet but Lady Sarah was already beginning to look more like herself. Her hair had darkened to the mahogany shade that it had been on the day that they had first met, but it was still thick and bushy even after being brushed to a glossy sheen. Lady Sarah had been dressed in a gown befitting of her status as Queen, uncrowned though she was, and she lay as if sleeping, while she awaited the King's arrival, and the end of this nightmare.

"Awaken my lady," Didymus said softly, taking one hand in both of his paws. "Thy knights have missed thee."

* * *

The Lady awoke with a start and produced a crystal. She bid it show her the runner.

"Well, hello Your Majesty," she smiled, watching as a young man with wild blonde hair was caught in a cradle of Helping Hands.

Silence fell over the throne room as she said this. Hundreds of goblin eyes came to settle on her, all of their previous pursuits completely forgotten at mention of their long lost king.

"King back?" asked a particularly small furry specimen approaching the throne.

"Not yet," said the Lady and her eyes widened as she watched the helping hands release the man who was not yet the goblin king, allowing him to drop into the oubliette. "But he will be soon."

She rose, stretched, and vanished from the throne room. It was time to jog the Goblin King's memory.

* * *

Well, he'd managed to get out of that stone maze. Only he couldn't help thinking that he would rather be out in the open again, rather than trapped in this pitch black oubliette. How in the Underground was he supposed to get out of this?

Draco looked at his hand, and smirked. ' _Magic of course,'_

How did the majority of mortals get along without it? He would have to ask Sarah when reached her.

Hold on a moment… mortals? Gods this place was getting to him. Sarah was waiting for him up at the castle and here he was mulling over the trivial matters like how mortals coped without magic.

There was a door somewhere on one of the walls and he wouldn't find it sitting on his arse on the dusty floor. He produced a crystal and tossed it into the air where it hovered, casting a glow bright enough to banish the shadows from the oubliette.

The door swung open and he grinned. "Someone in this place likes me."

~v~

* * *

 _ **Next time: Draco faces the cleaners**_


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